Abū Jaʿfar

أبو جعفر

Reader — both transmittersمدرسة المدينةd. ١٢٨هـFirst Medinan verse count · 6217Vol. I p. 233

The first of the three that complete the ten, and a Medinan reading. Brisk like Ibn Kathīr — a two-count separated madd — with the plural mīm consistently connected, and a brief silence on the detached letters that open certain sūrahs rather than running them together.

Hallmarks

Separated madd 2
Plural mīm consistently connected
Sakt on the detached letters
Replaces hamzah with a matching long vowel

Measures of madd

In ḥarakāt. Where several are given, all are permitted — the choice is the reciter’s. Vol. I p. 246.

Natural: 2
Badal (hamzah first): 2
Separated: 2
Connected: 4
Obligatory: 6
For a pause: 2, 4 or 6
Soft-letter: 2, 4 or 6 when pausing
Compensatory: 2
Minor ṣilah: 2
Major ṣilah: 2

Where he parts from Ḥafṣ

19 rules · 51 examples

Transcribed from Vol. I pp. 233–235.

Read this as a list of differences, not a complete account

The author makes Ḥafṣ the base and records for every other transmitter only where he diverges from Ḥafṣ — she says so outright at Vol. I p. 187. So the rules below are not everything Abū Jaʿfar does; they are the places he parts from Ḥafṣ. Everything not listed here, he shares with him. Ḥafṣ’s uṣūl in full →

1
The two transmitters
الراويان
al-rāwiyān
Abū Jaʿfar Yazīd ibn al-Qaʿqāʿ of Madīnah is the first of the readers of that city and the first of the three readers added beyond the famous seven. Two men transmit from him directly: ʿĪsā ibn Wardān al-Madanī al-Ḥadhdhāʾ (Abū al-Ḥārith), and Sulaymān ibn Muslim ibn Jammāz al-Zuhrī al-Madanī (Abū al-Rabīʿ). Ibn Wardān is the one recited first, and the two differ only slightly, so the author states the rules of the reading as a whole and names a transmitter only where they part.
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هو الإمام أبو جعفر يزيد بن القعقاع المدنيّ أول قارئي المدينة المنورة، وله راويان أحدُهما: أبو الحارث عيسى بن وردان المدنيّ الحذَّاء، وثانيهما: أبو الربيع سليمان بن مسلم بن جمّاز الزُّهريّ مولاهم المدنيّ، رَوَيا القراءة عنه مباشرة وابن وردان مقدَّم في الأداء والخُلف بينهما يسير، ولذا عزوتُ إلى الشيخ بكماله.
Examples · 1
- Introductory paragraph; the book gives no Qurʾānic citation here.
2
Joining the plural mīm to a wāw
صلة ميم الجمع
ṣilat mīm al-jamʿ
The mīm that marks a masculine plural pronoun ("-kum", "-hum") is normally read vowelless: ʿalayhim, minkum. Abū Jaʿfar instead gives it a ḍammah and then draws it out into an audible ū whenever the next word begins with a pronounced consonant — so ʿalayhimu al-ḥamd, minkumū rijāl. The stretched wāw is heard, not written. It applies only while joining; if he stops on the word, the mīm is vowelless as usual.
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قرأ أبو جعفر بضم ميم الجمع ووصلها بواو لفظية إذا وقعتْ قبل محرَّك وصلًا فقط.
Examples · 1
- The book states the principle without citing a word here; the category was defined earlier in the volume.
The rule in general → The plural mīm
3
Full assimilation in taʾmannā
إدغام النون في ﴿تَأْمَنَّا﴾
idghām al-nūn fī taʾmannā
In lā taʾmannā ʿalā Yūsufa (Yūsuf 12:11) the word was originally taʾmanunā, with two nūns. Most readers merge them but keep a trace of the lost ḍammah — either by rounding the lips silently (ishmām) or by half-sounding the vowel (rawm). Abū Jaʿfar merges them completely: no lip-rounding, no partial vowel, just a doubled nūn.
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وأدغم النون الأولى في النون الثانية من ﴿تَأْمَنَّا عَلَىٰ يُوسُفَ﴾ إدغامًا تامًّا أي من غير رَوم أو إشمام.
Examples · 1
- تَأْمَنَّا عَلَىٰ يُوسُفَYūsuf 12:11Complete assimilation, without rawm or ishmām.
4
Short separated madd, medium joined madd
قصر المنفصل وتوسط المتصل
qaṣr al-munfaṣil wa-tawassuṭ al-muttaṣil
Where a long vowel ends one word and a hamzah begins the next, Abū Jaʿfar does not lengthen at all: he holds it for the natural two beats, as if no hamzah followed. Where the long vowel and the hamzah are inside a single word he holds a medium four beats. A three-beat measure for the separated case is also transmitted from him, but the practice acted upon is the first, the plain short reading.
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وقرأ بقصر المنفصل وتوسط المتصل، ورُوي أيضًا عنه مدُّه ثلاثًا والعمل على الأول.
Examples · 1
- The book states the measures without citing a word here.
The rule in general → Separated prolongation
5
The pronominal hāʾ
هاء الكناية
hāʾ al-kināyah
The suffixed pronoun -hu / -hi is treated place by place. In fīhi muhānan (al-Furqān 25:69) Abū Jaʿfar keeps the hāʾ short — one beat, no drawn-out ī. In yuʾaddihi, nuʾtihi, nuwallihi and nuṣlihi he gives the hāʾ no vowel at all, closing the word on a bare h. In wa-mā ansānīhu (al-Kahf 18:63) and ʿalayhu Allāha (al-Fatḥ 48:10) — printed here as Ḥafṣ reads them, with a ḍammah — he reads a kasrah instead. The remaining cases split between the transmitters: in yarḍahu lakum (al-Zumar 39:7) Ibn Jammāz leaves the hāʾ vowelless while Ibn Wardān stretches it; in arjih (al-Aʿrāf 7:111, al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:36) both read a kasrah, but Ibn Jammāz draws it out into an ī and Ibn Wardān keeps it short. Ibn Wardān alone reads turzaqānihi (Yūsuf 12:37) with the hāʾ short; and in yattaqhi (al-Nūr 24:52) Ibn Wardān leaves the hāʾ vowelless while Ibn Jammāz stretches it fully — both of them putting a kasrah on the qāf.
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وقصَرَ هاء ﴿فِيهِ مُهَانًا﴾ بالفرقان، وسكَّن هاء ﴿يُؤَدِّهِ﴾، و﴿نُؤْتِهِ﴾، و﴿نُوَلِّهِ﴾، و﴿نُصْلِهِ﴾، وكسَرَ هاء ﴿وَمَآ أَنسَىٰنِيهُ﴾، و﴿عَلَيْهُ ٱللَّهَ﴾، وسكَّن هاء ﴿يَرْضَهُ لَكُمْ﴾ من رواية ابن جمّاز ومدَّها من رواية ابن وردان، وقرأ ﴿أَرْجِهْ﴾ بكسر الهاء ومدِّها من رواية ابن جمّاز، وقصَرَها من رواية ابن وردان، ورَوَى ابن وردان ﴿تُرْزَقَانِهِ﴾ بقصر الهاء، و﴿يَتَّقْهِ﴾ بإسكان الهاء وأشبعها ابن جمّاز، كلاهما مع كسر القاف.
Examples · 4
- فِيهِ مُهَانًاal-Furqān 25:69The hāʾ kept short.
- نُؤْتِهِThe hāʾ left vowelless.
- يَرْضَهُ لَكُمْal-Zumar 39:7Ibn Jammāz: vowelless hāʾ. Ibn Wardān: stretched.
- أَرْجِهْal-Aʿrāf 7:111; al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:36Kasrah on the hāʾ; stretched by Ibn Jammāz, short by Ibn Wardān.
The rule in general → The pronoun hāʾ
6
Easing the second of two hamzahs inside one word
تسهيل الهمزة الثانية من المجتمعتَين في كلمة
tashīl al-hamzah al-thāniyah
When a word opens with two hamzahs in a row — an interrogative hamzah followed by the word's own hamzah — Abū Jaʿfar does not pronounce the second one crisply. He softens it into a sound halfway between a hamzah and the long vowel matching its own short vowel: halfway to an alif in a-andhartahum, to a yāʾ in a-innakum, to a wāw in a-unzila. On top of that he inserts an alif before the softened hamzah, so a small separating stretch is heard: āa-andhartahum. In the word aʾimmah he goes further and turns the second hamzah into a plain yāʾ, with no inserted alif — ayimmah.
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وسهَّل أبو جعفر الهمزة الثانية من كل همزتَي قطع اجتمعتا في كلمة نحو ﴿ءَأَنذَرْتَهُمْ﴾، و﴿أَإِنَّكُمْ﴾، و﴿أَأُنزِلَ﴾، بين الهمزة والحرف المجانس لحركتها وزاد قبلها ألفًا، وزاد في ﴿أَئِمَّةَ﴾ إبدال الثانية ياء من غير زيادة ألف قبلها.
Examples · 3
- ءَأَنذَرْتَهُمْal-Baqarah 2:6Second hamzah eased toward an alif, with an alif inserted before it.
- أَإِنَّكُمْSecond hamzah eased toward a yāʾ, with an inserted alif.
- أَئِمَّةَSecond hamzah turned into a plain yāʾ, no inserted alif.
The rule in general → Softening the hamzah
7
Verses that ask the question twice
ما تكرر فيه الاستفهام
mā takarrara fīhi al-istifhām
Several verses put the same question twice over — the pattern a-idhā kunnā turāban a-innā, "when we are dust, are we really…?". Abū Jaʿfar turns the first member into a plain statement and keeps the question only in the second: idhā kunnā turāban a-innā. He reverses that in sūrat al-Wāqiʿah and in the first of the two places in al-Ṣāffāt, asking first and stating second. He also reads qālū a-innaka la-anta Yūsuf (Yūsuf 12:90) as a statement, not a question, and likewise āmantum in al-Aʿrāf, Ṭā Hā and al-Shuʿarāʾ, an kāna dhā māl in al-Qalam, and adhhabtum ṭayyibātikum in al-Aḥqāf. Going the other way, he adds a question where Ḥafṣ has none: al-siḥru inna Allāha sa-yubṭiluh (Yūnus 10:81), which he reads ā-al-siḥru — "is this magic?".
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وقرأ ما تكرر فيه الاستفهام نحو ﴿أَءِذَا كُنَّا تُرَٰبًا أَءِنَّا﴾ بالإخبار في الأول والاستفهام في الثاني، إلا أنه قرأ بعكس ذلك في سورة الواقعة والموضع الأول من الصافّات، وقرأ ﴿قَالُوٓا۟ أَءِنَّكَ لَأَنتَ يُوسُفُ﴾ بالإخبار، و﴿ءَأَمَنتُمْ﴾ في الأعراف وطه والشعراء، و﴿أَن كَانَ ذَا مَالٍ﴾ بالقلم، و﴿أَذَهَبْتُمْ طَيِّبَـٰتِكُمْ﴾ في الأحقاف، و﴿ٱلسِّحْرُ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَيُبْطِلُهُ﴾ بالاستفهام.
Examples · 3
- قَالُوٓا۟ أَءِنَّكَ لَأَنتَ يُوسُفُYūsuf 12:90Read as a statement, not a question.
- أَذَهَبْتُمْ طَيِّبَـٰتِكُمْal-Aḥqāf 46:20Read as a statement.
- ٱلسِّحْرُYūnus 10:81The book's footnote records that Abū Jaʿfar reads it ﴿ءَآلسِّحْرُ﴾, with the interrogative hamzah.
8
Two hamzahs meeting across a word boundary
الهمزتان المتلاصقتان من كلمتَين
al-hamzatān min kalimatayn
When one word ends in a hamzah and the next begins with one, Abū Jaʿfar normally softens the second of the pair to a sound between a hamzah and its matching vowel, and does nothing else. Three vowel combinations are handled differently, and in these it is the first hamzah that changes. If the first carries a ḍammah and the second a kasrah, he may either soften the first or turn it into a pure wāw. If the first carries a kasrah and the second a fatḥah, he turns the first into a pure yāʾ, and that is his only option. If the first carries a ḍammah and the second a fatḥah, he turns the first into a pure wāw, again his only option.
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وسهَّل أخرى الهمزتين المتلاصقتين من كلمتَين بَينَ بَينَ فقط إلا إنْ ضُمَّ الأول وكُسِرَ الثاني، أو كُسِرَ الأول وفُتِحَ الثاني، أو ضُمَّ الأول وفُتِحَ الثاني، فإنه يغيِّر الأول من هذه الثلاثة بالتسهيل وبالإبدال واوًا خالصة، والثاني بإبداله ياءً خالصةً فقط، والثالث بإبداله واوًا خالصة فقط.
Examples · 1
- The book states the three combinations without citing a word for each.
The rule in general → Softening the hamzah
9
Turning a vowelless hamzah into a long vowel
إبدال الهمز الساكن
ibdāl al-hamz al-sākin
Any hamzah that carries no vowel of its own, Abū Jaʿfar does not pronounce; he replaces it with the long vowel that matches the vowel before it, so the syllable simply stretches — yuʾminūn becomes yūminūn, iʾdhan becomes īdhan, raʾs becomes rās. Two words are exempt: anbiʾhum and nabbiʾhum, where he sounds the hamzah properly. In wa-riʾyan and al-ruʾyā (wherever it occurs) the replaced hamzah becomes a yāʾ which then merges into the yāʾ after it, giving wa-riyyan and al-ruyyā. Separately, where a word's second root letter is a hamzah with a fatḥah standing after a ḍammah — muʾajjalan and its like — he turns it into a plain wāw: muwajjalan. On yuʾayyid the two transmitters differ: Ibn Jammāz replaces the hamzah, Ibn Wardān sounds it.
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وأبدل كلَّ همزٍ ساكنٍ حرفَ مدٍّ من جنس حركة ما قبله إلا همزَي ﴿أَنۢبِئْهُم﴾ و﴿وَنَبِّئْهُمْ﴾ فله فيهما التحقيق، وأبدل همز ﴿وَرِءْيًا﴾، وهمز ﴿ٱلرُّءْيَا﴾ كيف وقع حرفَ مدٍّ مع إدغامه في مماثله، وأبدلَ همز ﴿مُؤَجَّلًا﴾ ونحوه واوًا مفتوحة، أي من كل ما كان فاء مفتوحة بعد ضمة، لكنه اختُلف عنه في ﴿يُؤَيِّدُ﴾ فأبدله ابن جمّاز، وحقَّقه ابن وردان.
Examples · 4
- وَرِءْيًاMaryam 19:74Read wa-riyyan, the hamzah becoming a yāʾ merged into the next.
- ٱلرُّءْيَاRead al-ruyyā.
- مُؤَجَّلًاĀl ʿImrān 3:145The hamzah becomes a plain wāw: muwajjalan.
- أَنۢبِئْهُمal-Baqarah 2:33Exempt — the hamzah is sounded.
The rule in general → Replacing the hamzah
10
Turning the hamzah into a yāʾ in named words
إبدال الهمز ياءً في كلمات مخصوصة
ibdāl al-hamz yāʾan
In a fixed list of words Abū Jaʿfar replaces the hamzah with a yāʾ, with no alternative permitted: la-yubaṭṭiʾanna, la-nubawwiʾannahum, quriʾa, muliʾat, ustuhziʾa, nāshiʾah, riʾāʾ, khāsiʾan, shāniʾak, bi-l-khāṭiʾah, khāṭiʾah, miʾah, fiʾah, and the dual forms of the last two. The word mawṭiʾan is treated the same way, but here he is transmitted both ways, so either reading is permissible.
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وقرأ ﴿لَيُبَطِّئَنَّ﴾، و﴿لَنُبَوِّئَنَّهُمْ﴾، و﴿قُرِئَ﴾، و﴿مُلِئَتْ﴾، و﴿ٱسْتُهْزِئَ﴾، و﴿نَاشِئَةَ﴾، و﴿رِئَآءَ﴾، و﴿خَاسِئًا﴾، و﴿شَانِئَكَ﴾، و﴿بِٱلْخَاطِئَةِ﴾، و﴿خَاطِئَةٍ﴾، و﴿مِا۟ئَةَ﴾، و﴿فِئَةٍ﴾، ومُثنَّييهما بإبدال الهمز ياءً فيهن قولًا واحدًا، و﴿مَوْطِئًا﴾ كذلك بخُلف عنه.
Examples · 3
- قُرِئَal-Aʿrāf 7:204Read quriya.
- فِئَةٍRead fiyah.
- مَوْطِئًاal-Tawbah 9:120Transmitted from him both with and without the substitution.
The rule in general → Replacing the hamzah
11
Dropping the hamzah altogether
حذف الهمز
ḥadhf al-hamz
In saʾala he replaces the hamzah with an alif, reading sāla. In a further list he does not replace the hamzah at all but simply deletes it, so the word contracts: muttakaʾan, muttakiʾīn, khāṭiʾīn, al-khāṭiʾīn, wa-l-ṣābiʾīn, al-mustahziʾīn, yaṭaʾūn, taṭaʾūhā, taṭaʾūhum. In mustahziʾūn and every word like it — a hamzah carrying a ḍammah, standing after a kasrah with a wāw following — he deletes the hamzah and moves its ḍammah onto the letter before it, giving mustahzūn; both transmitters agree on this without exception. The single exception is al-munshiʾūn (al-Wāqiʿah 56:72), where Ibn Wardān may either do the same or leave the word exactly as it stands.
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و﴿سَأَلَ﴾ بإبدال الهمز ألفًا، وقرأ بحذف الهمز في ﴿مُتَّكَـًٔا﴾، و﴿مُتَّكِـِٔينَ﴾، و﴿خَـٰطِـِٔينَ﴾، و﴿ٱلْخَاطِـِٔينَ﴾، و﴿وَٱلصَّـٰبِـِٔينَ﴾، و﴿ٱلْمُسْتَهْزِءِينَ﴾، و﴿يَطَـُٔونَ﴾، و﴿تَطَـُٔوهَا﴾، و﴿تَطَـُٔوهُمْ﴾، وبحذفه مع ضم ما قبله في ﴿مُسْتَهْزِءُونَ﴾ ونحوه من كل مضمومٍ بعد كسر وبعده واو من غير خلاف في شيء من الروايتين، إلا في ﴿ٱلْمُنشِـُٔونَ﴾ فإنَّ ابن وردان يحذف الهمز فيه مع ضم ما قبله، أو يبقي الكلمة على حالها.
Examples · 4
- سَأَلَal-Maʿārij 70:1Read sāla.
- خَـٰطِـِٔينَThe hamzah deleted.
- مُسْتَهْزِءُونَRead mustahzūn — hamzah deleted, its ḍammah moved back.
- ٱلْمُنشِـُٔونَal-Wāqiʿah 56:72Ibn Wardān has two options here.
The rule in general → Replacing the hamzah
12
Substitution with assimilation, and single-word rulings
الإبدال مع الإدغام وأحكام مفردة
al-ibdāl maʿa al-idghām
In juzʾan, juzʾun, ka-hayʾah and al-nasīʾ the hamzah is replaced by a letter of the same kind as the one before it and then merged into it, so juzʾan becomes juzzan and ka-hayʾah becomes ka-hayyah. In a-raʾayta, wherever it stands after the interrogative hamzah, he softens the inner hamzah rather than sounding it; and he sounds the hamzah in wa-ka-ayyin, the second hamzah of Isrāʾīl, and the hamzah of hā-antum. The relative pronoun al-lāʾī he reads without its yāʾ, both when joining and when stopping, and then softens the hamzah — while joining, without rawm; while stopping, with rawm. Turning the hamzah into a vowelless yāʾ is also transmitted from him, but only at a stop; and when he does that, the madd before it must be held six beats, because two vowelless letters have come together.
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وأبدل همز ﴿جُزْءًا﴾، و﴿جُزْءٌ﴾، و﴿كَهَيْـَٔةِ﴾، و﴿ٱلنَّسِىٓءُ﴾ حرفًا مجانسًا لما قبله مع الإدغام، وسهَّل همز ﴿أَرَءَيْتَ﴾ حيث جاء إذا وقع بعد همزة الاستفهام، وهمز ﴿وَكَأَيِّن﴾، وثاني همزَي ﴿إِسْرَٰٓءِيل﴾، وهمز ﴿هَـٰٓأَنتُمْ﴾، وحَذَفَ ياء ﴿ٱلَّـِٔى﴾ وصلًا ووقفًا ثم سهَّل همزه في الوصل من غير رَوم، وسهَّله في الوقف مع الرَّوم، وجاء عنه إبداله ياء ساكنة حال الوقف فقط، ويتعيَّن حين الإبدال مدُّه ست حركات لالتقاء الساكنَين.
Examples · 3
- جُزْءًاal-Baqarah 2:260Read juzzan.
- كَهَيْـَٔةِĀl ʿImrān 3:49; al-Māʾidah 5:110Read ka-hayyah.
- هَـٰٓأَنتُمْThe hamzah sounded.
The rule in general → Replacing the hamzah
13
Hamzah restored in huzuwan, kufuwan and rabat
الهمز في ﴿هُزُوًا﴾ و﴿كُفُوًا﴾ و﴿وَرَبَتْ﴾
al-hamz fī huzuwan wa-kufuwan
Where Ḥafṣ reads huzuwan and kufuwan with a plain wāw, Abū Jaʿfar reads a hamzah in its place — huzuʾan wherever it occurs, and kufuʾan in sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ — and he does so both when joining and when stopping. In wa-rabat, in al-Ḥajj and Fuṣṣilat, he inserts an extra hamzah with a fatḥah: wa-rabaʾat.
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وقرأ ﴿هُزُوًا﴾ حيث وقع، و﴿كُفُوًا﴾ في الإخلاص بالهمز في الحالَين، وزاد همزة مفتوحة في ﴿وَرَبَتْ﴾ في الحج وفصلت.
Examples · 3
- هُزُوًاRead huzuʾan, with a hamzah, in both waṣl and waqf.
- كُفُوًاal-Ikhlāṣ 112:4Read kufuʾan.
- وَرَبَتْal-Ḥajj 22:5; Fuṣṣilat 41:39Read wa-rabaʾat, with an added hamzah.
14
Transferring the hamzah's vowel backwards
النقل
al-naql
In several places Abū Jaʿfar moves a hamzah's vowel back onto the vowelless letter before it and then drops the hamzah. In min ajli dhālika (al-Māʾidah 5:32) the kasrah moves onto the nūn: mini-jli dhālik. In ridʾan (al-Qaṣaṣ 28:34) the vowel moves onto the dāl, and its tanwīn is turned into an alif both when joining and when stopping, giving ridā. In ʿādan al-ūlā (al-Najm 53:50) the vowel moves onto the lām and the tanwīn is merged into that lām: ʿādal-lūlā. That last is the ruling for joining; if you stop on ʿādan and restart at al-ūlā, you may go back to the plain form, or keep the transfer either with the connecting hamzah pronounced or without it — the first of these being preferable. Ibn Wardān alone applies the same transfer in milʾu (Āl ʿImrān 3:91) and in al-āna wherever it occurs; and in ā-al-āna, where it stands after an interrogative hamzah, he may hold the madd long, keeping the original form in view, or short, in view of the substitution he has just made — and only short if he softens the hamzah instead.
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وقرأ ﴿مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَٰلِكَ﴾ في المائدة بكسر الهمزة ونقل حركتها إلى النون قبلها، و﴿رِدْءًا﴾ في القصص بنقل حركة الهمزة إلى الدال، مع إبدال تنوينه ألفًا وصلًا ووقفًا، و﴿عَادًا ٱلْأُولَىٰ﴾ بنقل حركة الهمزة إلى اللام قبلها، وإدغام التنوين في اللام، وهذا حكم الوصل، فإن وقفت على ﴿عَادًا﴾ وابتدأت بـ﴿ٱلْأُولَىٰ﴾ جاز لك الرجوع إلى الأصل، وجاز لك النقل مع إثبات همزة الوصل ومع تركها، والأول أرجح. ورَوَى ابن وردان النقل في ﴿مِلْءُ﴾ بآل عمران، و﴿ٱلْـَٔـٰنَ﴾ كيف أتى، ويجوز له في ﴿ءَآلْـَٔـٰنَ﴾ الواقعة في الاستفهام المد طويلًا نظرًا للأصل، والقصر نظرًا للعارض حالة الإبدال، والقصر فقط حالة التسهيل.
Examples · 3
- مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَٰلِكَal-Māʾidah 5:32Read mini-jli dhālik.
- رِدْءًاal-Qaṣaṣ 28:34Read ridā, the tanwīn becoming an alif in both states.
- عَادًا ٱلْأُولَىٰal-Najm 53:50Read ʿādal-lūlā when joining.
The rule in general → Transferring the vowel
15
A pause of breath on each opening letter
السكت على حروف فواتح السور
al-sakt ʿalā ḥurūf fawātiḥ al-suwar
This is the rule that most distinguishes Abū Jaʿfar's recitation to the ear. At the head of the sūrahs that open with isolated letters, he breaks the sound off briefly after each individual letter-name, without breathing: alif — lām — mīm, each set apart, rather than run together. He does it in every such opening. Conversely, at the four places where the muṣḥaf marks a sakt for Ḥafṣ — ʿiwajan qayyiman, marqadinā hādhā, man rāq, bal rān — he makes no break at all, and because he joins straight through, the nūn of man and the lām of bal are absorbed into the following rāʾ.
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وسكت أبو جعفر على حروف الهجاء الواقعة في أوائل السور جميعها كـألف، ولام، وميم، من ﴿الٓمٓ﴾، ويا من ﴿يسٓ﴾، ولم يسكت على ﴿عِوَجَاۜ قَيِّمًا﴾، و﴿مَّرْقَدِنَاۜ هَـٰذَا﴾، و﴿مَنۜ رَاقٍ﴾، و﴿بَلۜ رَانَ﴾، وأدغم نون ﴿مَنْ﴾ ولام ﴿بَلْ﴾ في الراء بعدهما.
Examples · 3
- الٓمٓEach letter-name separated by a brief break: alif, lām, mīm.
- يسٓThe yāʾ separated by a break from the sīn.
- مَنۜ رَاقٍal-Qiyāmah 75:27No break here; assimilated to mar-rāq.
The rule in general → Brief pause
16
Assimilation, clear articulation, and nasal concealment
الإدغام والإظهار والإخفاء
al-idghām wa-l-iẓhār wa-l-ikhfāʾ
The vowelless thāʾ and dhāl merge into a following tāʾ in labithtum, akhadhtum and ittakhadhtum — whether or not the plural mīm is attached — so they are heard as labittum, akhattum. The dhāl of ʿudhtu merges the same way. Two places go the other way, where most readers assimilate but Abū Jaʿfar keeps both letters distinct: yalhath dhālika (al-Aʿrāf 7:176) and irkab maʿanā (Hūd 11:42). Finally, where a vowelless nūn or a tanwīn is followed by khāʾ or ghayn, he does not sound the nūn clearly but hides it in a nasal hum, as one does before the ordinary ikhfāʾ letters. Three words are excepted and keep the nūn clear: in yakun ghaniyyan, fa-sayunghiḍūn, and wa-l-munkhaniqah.
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وأدغم الثاء والذال في التاء من ﴿لَبِثْتُمْ﴾، و﴿أَخَذْتُمْ﴾، و﴿ٱتَّخَذْتُمْ﴾، سواء اتصلت بميم الجمع أم لا. وأدغم الذال في التاء من ﴿عُذْتُ﴾. وأظهر الثاء عند الذال من ﴿يَلْهَث ذَّٰلِكَ﴾، والباء عند الميم من ﴿ٱرْكَب مَّعَنَا﴾ بهود. وأخفى النون الساكنة والتنوين عند الخاء والغين، ما عدا ﴿إِن يَكُنْ غَنِيًّا﴾، و﴿فَسَيُنْغِضُونَ﴾، و﴿وَٱلْمُنْخَنِقَةُ﴾.
Examples · 4
- أَخَذْتُمْThe dhāl merged into the tāʾ: akhattum.
- يَلْهَث ذَّٰلِكَal-Aʿrāf 7:176Both letters kept distinct — no assimilation.
- ٱرْكَب مَّعَنَاHūd 11:42The bāʾ sounded clearly before the mīm.
- وَٱلْمُنْخَنِقَةُal-Māʾidah 5:3Excepted — the nūn kept clear before the khāʾ.
17
No inclination in majrāhā; stopping on yā abati
﴿مَجْرَىٰهَا﴾ بالفتح، والوقف على ﴿يَـٰٓأَبَتِ﴾
majrāhā bi-l-fatḥ
In majrāhā (Hūd 11:41) Ḥafṣ and others tip the vowel of the rāʾ toward "e". Abū Jaʿfar keeps it flat and open — majrāhā, plainly. And in yā abati ("O my father"), wherever it occurs, he stops with a hāʾ rather than a tāʾ: yā abah.
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وقرأ ﴿مَجْرَىٰهَا﴾ بفتح الراء من غير إمالة. ووقف على ﴿يَـٰٓأَبَتِ﴾ حيث وقع بالهاء.
Examples · 2
- مَجْرَىٰهَاHūd 11:41Read flat, without inclination.
- يَـٰٓأَبَتِStopped on with a hāʾ: yā abah.
The rule in general → Open vowel
18
The possessive yāʾ
ياءات الإضافة
yāʾāt al-iḍāfah
The yāʾ meaning "my" at the end of a word is sometimes given a fatḥah and sometimes left vowelless, and readers differ word by word. Abū Jaʿfar's default is to give it a fatḥah wherever a hamzat qaṭʿ follows — so ʿibādiya alladhīna rather than ʿibādī. He then lists the places where he does not: before a ḍammah-bearing hamzah in bi-ʿahdī ūfi and ātūnī ufrigh; before a kasrah-bearing hamzah in akhkhartanī ilā ajal, yadʿūnanī ilayhi, wa-tadʿūnanī ilā al-nār, tadʿūnanī ilayhi, anẓirnī ilā and yuṣaddiqunī innī; and before a fatḥah-bearing hamzah in arinī anẓur, wa-tarḥamnī akun, fa-ttabiʿnī ahdika, fa-dhkurūnī adhkurkum, taftinnī alā, udʿūnī astajib, dharūnī aqtul and awziʿnī an ashkura. He also gives the yāʾ a fatḥah in six places where no hamzat qaṭʿ follows: ʿahdiya al-ẓālimīn, li-nafsiya idhhab, dhikriya idhhabā, qawmiya ittakhadhū, min baʿdiya ismuhu, and wa-mamātiya lillāh. Going the other way, he leaves it vowelless in maʿī when a letter other than a hamzah follows, and in mā liya lā arā, both places of mā kāna liya, wa-maḥyāya, baytiya muʾminan, wa-liya dīn, wa-liya fīhā maʾārib, and wa-liya naʿjah.
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وفتَح ياء المتكلم الواقعة قبل همز قطع فيما عدا ﴿بِعَهْدِىٓ أُوفِ﴾، و﴿ءَاتُونِىٓ أُفْرِغْ﴾، وما عدا ﴿أَخَّرْتَنِىٓ إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلٍ﴾، و﴿يَدْعُونَنِىٓ إِلَيْهِ﴾، و﴿وَتَدْعُونَنِىٓ إِلَى ٱلنَّارِ﴾، و﴿تَدْعُونَنِىٓ إِلَيْهِ﴾، و﴿ٱنظِرْنِىٓ إِلَىٰ﴾، و﴿يُصَدِّقُنِىٓ إِنِّى﴾، وما عدا ﴿أَرِنِىٓ أَنظُرْ﴾، و﴿وَتَرْحَمْنِىٓ أَكُن﴾، و﴿فَٱتَّبِعْنِىٓ أَهْدِكَ﴾، و﴿فَٱذْكُرُونِىٓ أَذْكُرْكُمْ﴾، و﴿تَفْتِنِّىٓ أَلَا﴾، و﴿ٱدْعُونِىٓ أَسْتَجِبْ﴾، و﴿ذَرُونِىٓ أَقْتُلْ﴾، و﴿أَوْزِعْنِىٓ أَنْ أَشْكُرَ﴾، وقرأ بفتحها أيضًا في ﴿عَهْدِى ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ﴾، و﴿لِنَفْسِى ٱذْهَبْ﴾، و﴿ذِكْرِى ٱذْهَبَآ﴾، و﴿قَوْمِى ٱتَّخَذُوا۟﴾، و﴿مِنۢ بَعْدِى ٱسْمُهُۥ﴾، و﴿وَمَمَاتِى لِلَّهِ﴾، وسكَّنها في ﴿مَعِىَ﴾ قبل غير الهمز، و﴿مَا لِىَ لَآ أَرَىٰ﴾، و﴿مَا كَانَ لِىَ﴾ معًا، و﴿وَمَحْيَاىَ﴾، و﴿بَيْتِىَ مُؤْمِنًا﴾، و﴿وَلِىَ دِينِ﴾، و﴿وَلِىَ فِيهَا مَـَٔارِبُ﴾، و﴿وَلِىَ نَعْجَةٌ﴾.
Examples · 3
- بِعَهْدِىٓ أُوفِal-Baqarah 2:40Excepted — the yāʾ is not opened here.
- عَهْدِى ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَal-Baqarah 2:124Given a fatḥah even though no hamzat qaṭʿ follows.
- وَمَحْيَاىَal-Anʿām 6:162Left vowelless: wa-maḥyāy.
The rule in general → The possessive yāʾ
19
The yāʾ not written in the muṣḥaf
ياءات الزوائد
yāʾāt al-zawāʾid
Certain words end in a yāʾ that the muṣḥaf does not write, and readers differ over whether to pronounce it, and whether in joining, in stopping, or in both. Abū Jaʿfar pronounces it in both states in in yuridni al-Raḥmān, yā ʿibādi lā khawf, and allā tattabiʿani afa-ʿaṣayta — giving it a fatḥah in the first and third and leaving it vowelless in the second. In fa-mā ātāni (al-Naml 27:36) he drops the yāʾ only when stopping, and pronounces it with a fatḥah otherwise. In a long further list he pronounces the yāʾ when joining but not when stopping: daʿwata al-dāʿ, idhā daʿān, wa-ttaqūni yā ulī al-albāb (al-Baqarah), wa-mani ttabaʿani wa-qul and wa-khāfūni in kuntum (Āl ʿImrān), wa-khshawni wa-lā tashtarū (al-Māʾidah), wa-qad hadāni wa-lā akhāf (al-Anʿām), thumma kīdūni fa-lā (al-Aʿrāf), fa-lā tasʾalni, wa-lā tukhzūni and yawma yaʾti lā takallamu (all three in Hūd), ḥattā tuʾtūni (Yūsuf), bi-mā ashraktumūni and wa-taqabbal duʿāʾi (Ibrāhīm), la-in akhkhartani and fa-huwa al-muhtadi (al-Isrāʾ), fa-huwa al-muhtadi, an yahdiyani, in tarani, an yuʾtiyani, mā kunnā nabghi and an tuʿallimani (al-Kahf), wa-l-bādi (al-Ḥajj), a-tumiddūnani (al-Naml), ittabiʿūni ahdikum (Ghāfir), al-jawāri (al-Shūrā), wa-ttabiʿūni hādhā (al-Zukhruf), al-munādi (Qāf), yadʿu al-dāʿ and ilā al-dāʿ (al-Qamar), idhā yasri, akramani and ahānani (al-Fajr). Ibn Wardān alone adds two more that he pronounces when joining only: yawma al-talāqi and yawma al-tanādi.
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وقرأ ﴿إِن يُرِدْنِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ﴾، و﴿يَـٰعِبَادِ لَا خَوْفٌ﴾، و﴿أَلَّا تَتَّبِعَنِ أَفَعَصَيْتَ﴾ بياء ثابتة في حالَي الوصل والوقف، لكنه يفتحها في الأول والثالث ويسكِّنها في الثاني، و﴿فَمَآ ءَاتَىٰنِ﴾ في النمل بحذف الياء في الوقف فقط، وبإثباتها مفتوحة، وأثبت الياء وصلًا في ﴿دَعْوَةَ ٱلدَّاعِ﴾، و﴿إِذَا دَعَانِ﴾، و﴿وَٱتَّقُونِ يَـٰٓأُو۟لِى ٱلْأَلْبَـٰبِ﴾ في البقرة، و﴿وَمَنِ ٱتَّبَعَنِ وَقُل﴾، و﴿وَخَافُونِ إِن كُنتُم﴾ في آل عمران، و﴿وَٱخْشَوْنِ وَلَا تَشْتَرُوا۟﴾ في المائدة، و﴿وَقَدْ هَدَىٰنِ وَلَآ أَخَافُ﴾ في الأنعام، و﴿ثُمَّ كِيدُونِ فَلَا﴾ في الأعراف، و﴿فَلَا تَسْـَٔلْنِ﴾، و﴿وَلَا تُخْزُونِ﴾، و﴿يَوْمَ يَأْتِ لَا تَكَلَّمُ﴾ ثلاثتهن في هود، و﴿حَتَّىٰ تُؤْتُونِ﴾ في يوسف، و﴿بِمَآ أَشْرَكْتُمُونِ﴾، و﴿وَتَقَبَّلْ دُعَآءِ﴾ في إبراهيم، و﴿لَئِنْ أَخَّرْتَنِ﴾ و﴿فَهُوَ ٱلْمُهْتَدِ﴾ في الإسراء، و﴿فَهُوَ ٱلْمُهْتَدِ﴾، و﴿أَن يَهْدِيَنِ﴾، و﴿إِن تَرَنِ﴾، و﴿أَن يُؤْتِيَنِ﴾، و﴿مَا كُنَّا نَبْغِ﴾، و﴿أَن تُعَلِّمَنِ﴾ في الكهف، و﴿وَٱلْبَادِ﴾ بالحج، و﴿أَتُمِدُّونَنِ﴾ في النمل، و﴿ٱتَّبِعُونِ أَهْدِكُمْ﴾ في غافر، و﴿ٱلْجَوَارِ﴾ في الشورى، و﴿وَٱتَّبِعُونِ هَـٰذَا﴾ في الزخرف، و﴿ٱلْمُنَادِ﴾ في ق، و﴿يَدْعُ ٱلدَّاعِ﴾، و﴿إِلَى ٱلدَّاعِ﴾ في القمر، و﴿إِذَا يَسْرِ﴾، و﴿أَكْرَمَنِ﴾، و﴿أَهَـٰنَنِ﴾ في الفجر، وأثبت ابن وردان في الوصل فقط ياء ﴿يَوْمَ ٱلتَّلَاقِ﴾، و﴿يَوْمَ ٱلتَّنَادِ﴾. وهنا تمت أصوله ولله الحمد.
Examples · 4
- يَـٰعِبَادِ لَا خَوْفٌal-Zukhruf 43:68Yāʾ pronounced vowelless in both joining and stopping.
- فَمَآ ءَاتَىٰنِal-Naml 27:36Yāʾ pronounced with a fatḥah when joining, dropped when stopping.
- إِذَا يَسْرِal-Fajr 89:4Yāʾ pronounced when joining only.
- يَوْمَ ٱلتَّلَاقِGhāfir 40:15Ibn Wardān alone pronounces the yāʾ, and only when joining.
The rule in general → The restored yāʾ

Not fully resolved from the scan · 4

— p. 234 — the tanbīh on a madd letter standing before a softened hamzah inside one word cites a word I could not resolve; it looks like ﴿وَكَأَيِّن﴾ but the sense of the passage (madd preferred over qaṣr before a facilitated hamzah) suggests an istifhām word such as ﴿ءَآلذَّكَرَيْنِ﴾. I have therefore left that tanbīh out of the rules rather than transcribe a citation I cannot vouch for.
— p. 235 — in the list of yāʾāt al-iḍāfah excepted before a kasrah-bearing hamzah, the second item reads ﴿ذُرِّيَّتِىٓ …﴾ followed by a word I could not resolve (إِلَىٰ or إِنِّى). It is omitted from the quoted statement.
— p. 233 — the lemma ﴿أَرْجِهْ﴾ is printed with what I read as a sukūn on the hāʾ even though the text says he reads it with a kasrah; the book appears to print the Ḥafṣ reference form here, as it does for ﴿عَلَيْهُ ٱللَّهَ﴾ and the yāʾāt al-iḍāfah.
— p. 234 — ﴿مِا۟ئَةَ﴾ in the list of words whose hamzah becomes a yāʾ: the silent alif and its mark are legible in outline only, so the exact spelling of the marks is not guaranteed.

Cross-reference

Every rule in the general reference that names Abū Jaʿfar explicitly, or that applies to all ten.

Hallmarks

Measures of madd

Where he parts from Ḥafṣ

Read this as a list of differences, not a complete account

The two transmitters

Joining the plural mīm to a wāw

Full assimilation in taʾmannā

Short separated madd, medium joined madd

The pronominal hāʾ

Easing the second of two hamzahs inside one word

Verses that ask the question twice

Two hamzahs meeting across a word boundary

Turning a vowelless hamzah into a long vowel

Turning the hamzah into a yāʾ in named words

Dropping the hamzah altogether

Substitution with assimilation, and single-word rulings

Hamzah restored in huzuwan, kufuwan and rabat

Transferring the hamzah's vowel backwards

A pause of breath on each opening letter

Assimilation, clear articulation, and nasal concealment

No inclination in majrāhā; stopping on yā abati

The possessive yāʾ

The yāʾ not written in the muṣḥaf

Cross-reference